Dr. Steve Gallop is committed to providing advanced vision care for people of all ages in a family-friendly and comfortable environment. "As a behavioral optometrist in Broomall, my practice is dedicated to individualized developmental vision care." Dr. Gallop specializes in developmental visual evaluations and vision therapy for strabismus, amblyopia, lazy eye, developmental and learning challenges, myopia reduction and many other visual conditions that are beyond the scope of most eyecare professionals. Dr. Gallop also offers second opinion consultations for anyone considering eye muscle surgery as well as post-operative care, including vision therapy for anyone who has already had eye muscle surgery.
Visual Evaluations
Dr. Gallop provides a thorough visual evaluation including the dynamic testing of eye movements, eye teaming and focusing stability and flexibility. A thorough visual evaluation (usually followed by vision therapy and special lenses) is often beneficial for children with developmental delays, such as those associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as children who have difficulty with reading, handwriting or learning in general. This type of visual evaluation is also important for people of all ages with neurological deficits, acquired brain injury or post-concussion syndrome and people with many other symptoms such as headaches, dry eyes, double vision, etc. Call today at 610-356-7425 to learn more about how behavioral optometry can better meet your specific visual needs and schedule an appointment.
Vision Therapy
Dr. Gallop provides a unique, individualized program of vision therapy for people of all ages. "So far my age range for vision therapy is between the ages of 2 and 92." Dr. Gallop does all vision therapy personally and does not have technicians or therapists doing any of his therapy. "My feeling is that vision therapy is too important to have a subordinate providing it for my patients. There are no computers involved in my vision therapy either. I believe that vision therapy is best done away from the computer. I also don't rely on machines or technicians to do any part of my visual evaluation, which is increasingly uncommon these days." Call Dr. Gallop to learn more about his special brand of vision therapy.
Myopia Control and Reduction
Dr. Gallop has specialized in myopia reduction since 1989, helping thousands of people reduce or eliminate the need for glasses to see in the distance. His book, Looking Differently at Nearsightedness and Myopia: The Visual Process and the Myth of 20/20 is a must-read for anyone thinking about approaching their visual needs differently than the majority of eye doctors would force them to do. Dr. Gallop uses lenses and vision therapy to prevent or reverse myopia. "I first attempted myopia reduction on myself. In fact I also spent a year as a vision therapy patient so that I could experience what my patients would be doing. Vision therapy and the strategic use of lenses can help most people reduce or eliminate myopia." Myopia control has recently become a popular topic among professionals; it was completely ignored or ridiculed when I began providing myopia control in the late 1980s. Although it is popular now, all the newer approaches are medical and mechanical as opposed to my approach, which is based on a dynamic and strategic philosophy of prescribing, in conjunction with an active vision therapy program. Call 610-356-7425 and speak directly to Dr. Gallop to have your specific questions answered or to make an appointment to see if myopia reduction is a good idea for you.
LASIK
Casper Wells, a promising prospect for the Philadelphia Phillies recently told his coach he should be sent back to the minors. Why? Wells had LASIK surgery in November 2012 and had been complaining of problems seeing ever since, especially when there is less light. Phillies broadcaster Chris Wheeler, while talking about Wells during the Phillies/Mets game on August 26, 2013, admitted that he too was one of the casualties of LASIK refractive surgery.
Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, commonly referred to as LASIK, is being sold to the public as a corrective alternative to glasses or contact lenses. Like glasses and contact lenses, LASIK does not in fact correct anything whatsoever. It is a nothing more than a method for masking the symptoms of refractive conditions like nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism. Dr. Gallop provides individualized counseling for those considering the permanent damage to their eyes that results from LASIK and the risk of permanent loss or disruption of sight that is also fairly common with LASIK. Dr. Gallop does not recommend LASIK for anyone though he does understand the appeal for those who have worn glasses for many years - as he himself has done. Call 610-356-7425 today to speak with Dr. Gallop about the real issues involved in LASIK or any refractive surgery, or to schedule an evaluation to see whether you still want to consider yourself a candidate for LASIK.
Strabismus and Amblyopia
Strabismus is the visual condition where the two eyes are not working in the appropriate integrated fashion. There are many variations of strabismus. Most people know someone who has a cosmetically noticeable eye turn. Or you may know someone who has had strabismus surgery whose eyes now look straight. Most instances of strabismus are not cosmetically noticeable and are often more problematic than those that are. Poor eye teaming can interfere with general development, reading, learning, playing sports, self esteem and general comfort and efficiency at work or anywhere. Many people are told that strabismus surgery is the only solution. Strabismus surgery is not the only solution. In fact, strabismus surgery is often not a solution at all since as often as not multiple eye muscle surgeries are required just to have the eyes appear straight. And strabismus surgery doesn't even directly address the issue of visual function. Adding vision therapy to strabismus surgery greatly increases the odds of improved visual performance and comfort while decreasing the likelihood of multiple surgeries being necessary. Behavioral optometrists have used vision therapy and therapeutic lenses to successfully treat strabismus since the 1930s. Vision therapy can often eliminate the need for strabismus surgery before it occurs. Dr. Gallop's book A Parent Guide to Strabismus, Eye Muscle Surgery and Vision Therapy was published by the Optometric Extension Program Foundation in 2014. It can be purchased here.
No-line/progressive Bifocals
I can’t count the number of people I have seen over the years who struggled with their blended/invisible/progressive “bifocals.” These of course are not bifocals, but complex, and very fussy multi-focal lenses, technically known as progressive addition lenses. Some of these people were able to wear the lenses and others were not. The idea behind these lenses is very good, the practical, real life application is another thing entirely. Successfully wearing these progressive addition lenses requires many undesirable alterations of the way our visual system was meant to be used. The brain must adapt quite significantly to make use of these lenses. These adaptations include greatly reduced ability to properly move the eyes, head and neck, the need to ignore significant distortions of the peripheral visual fields and perpetual disuse and misuse of the focusing system of the eyes. Most of these adaptations, under any other circumstances, would be seen as undesirable. They are particularly undesirable in the eyes of behavioral optometrists whose primary mission includes maximizing effortless, accurate eye movements, accurate, flexible focusing ability and optimal peripheral visual awareness and processing. Wearing these lenses is like doing a workout regimen specifically designed to improve the muscles you need to use crutches. Most doctors who regularly prescribe progressive addition lenses are unaware of the consequences of using these lenses. Sometimes these lenses can be very helpful, but it is not really a good idea for most people to rely solely on them as their only pair of glasses.